Devastation. Loss. Hope. The juxtaposition of miles of destruction beside yellow daffodils and blooming trees left a sense of irony hanging in the air. While much of the world has moved on from the destruction caused by the fire in and around Paradise, California, last November, the members of the community are still reeling from the trauma of losing their homes, their loved ones, and their livelihoods.
During the 2019 spring break, a group of 17 students, faculty, staff, and alumni from Walla…

A group of us inhaled one last deep breath of fresh air before entering another moldy home. Dinner time was approaching, my energy was vanishing, and the last thing I wanted to do was haul out loads of grungy items. Within ten minutes, I was covered in sweat. This was not my idea of a relaxing Spring Break.

I was a young, outgoing, and single-minded teenager. My view of Spring Break consisted of going to the beach, and shopping, instead here I was doing this grimy, dirty work.

“Jana, are you just going to stand there? I need help carrying this bed-frame outside,” a classmate of mine said.

I snapped out of my daydream, yet could not shake off my grouchy mood. Instead of working hard, I kept thinking about my friends enjoying their break without me. I obviously did not want to be cleaning out filthy houses in New Orleans! The true reason I agreed to participate? Because I still needed community service hours to meet school requirements.

Hurricane Katrina had taken place months before our visit, but New Orleans still needed desperate help. Each home we entered reeked, making my eyes burn and stomach churn. The waterline reached clear up to the ceiling in most the homes. Piles of individual’s belongings were smothered in grime. Our job consisted of clearing everything out, and then completely gutting the house.

I walked into a bedroom and started to clean out the closet. I reached into the closet, grabbed a mangled up jacket, and instantly froze in my tracks. I owned that exact same jacket. The room felt eerie, lonely, and cold, it was just me and that jacket. As I peered into the closet, I saw numerous items that were just like mine. How would I feel if my closet had been destroyed? Tears immediately sprang to my eyes. In that moment of silence, I thanked God for what I do have.

People’s belongings, memories, and meaningful items were washed away in hurricane Katrina. There I stood, observing the destruction firsthand. I became ashamed with my self-indulgence, begging God to veer me away from my egocentric viewpoint.

I knew God had put me in that moldy room at that exact moment. He knew how stubborn I was being. Through Him I learned to see the world through a whole new perspective, and appreciate the blessings He has provided.

Rose’s Devotionals are prepared by Rose Hartwell, one of the Intercer founders. Since 1999, Rose sends out a daily devotional newsletter that includes a commentary on a Bible passage, a list of prayer requests for the current week and an illustration from daily life that applies to the Bible passage in study.

Like this:

Dear Nancy: I’m seven years into a marriage that is a financial disaster! I’m working full time and we just can’t get ahead. Our bills are driving me crazy. My husband says he wants to pay the bills, but he rarely remembers to pay things on time. We had a car repossessed a couple of years ago; we’re constantly overdrawn at the bank; and we have credit card debt up to our eyeballs.

I’m at the point where I can barely sleep at nights. I wasn’t raised this way and am not used to living like this. Before I married my husband, I knew he wasn’t careful with money. I thought he’d become more responsible after we got married and had children. Big mistake!

I’m so ashamed. I can’t take many more calls from creditors. Is there anything we can do to change the way we are living?

Dear Ashamed: You are just one of many couples burdened by uncontrollable debt. Much of this happens because no one has taught young couples how to handle money. Today’s philosophy seems to be “Spend and spend; if you don’t have the cash, charge it. If you want it, get it because you deserve it.” People seem to have abandoned the concept of saving in order to buy.

Contrary to the direction society is going. God wants His people to live debt free. The blessings that come with living debt free go far beyond financial freedom. How we handle our money spills over into the spiritual and marital areas of life as well. No one who is financially burdened can be spiritually free. And debt and financial bondage have far-reaching effects on a marriage.

How do you get out of debt? Here are nine steps Crown Financial Ministries* developed to help couples get out of the debt trap:

1. Pray. Transfer ownership of all your possessions to God. Then ask Him for guidance and wisdom in all matters pertaining to how you handle what belongs to Him.

2. Give to God first. Tithing must be your first commitment—give ten percent of your income to the Lord before you allocate the rest of your money. Without faithfully fulfilling this commitment, all other efforts will fail.

3. Establish a written budget. A balanced budget is the primary tool in any family’s plan for managing money. List all of your obligations. Start with all the debts you owe. Include credit-card debt, all payments, and any loans you have. Monthly bills such as the electric or gas bill aren’t considered debt until you are late on a payment, but add these other items to your budget as well. It will take a month or so to write down all of your expenses and realize where your money is going. Keep a log of everything you spend. Write down everything, even a soda from McDonalds, and ice cream from Dairy Queen. Then evaluate this list at the end of the month. What can you eliminate?

4. List your assets. Write down everything you own. Is there anything you currently own that you could sell and apply the money toward debt reduction? Consider items of value that you many not use or need any more.

5. Work out a pay-back plan with your creditors. Most creditors are more than willing to work with people who honestly want to repay them. Make sure that every creditor gets something, but stay within the guidelines of your budget. Decide which debts to pay off first. You should base your decision on two factors: the size of the debts and interest rate charged. In most cases, it is wise to pay off the smallest debt first. You’ll be encouraged as they are eliminated, and you’ll also be freeing up money to apply against other debts. Then that money can be applied to the next smallest debt and so forth until you are debt free. Consider also what rate of interest you’re paying on each debt. Try to pay off those debts that involve high rates of interest before you pay off those that charge less.

6. Consider earning additional income. Whether we earn a lot or a little, we tend to spend more than we make. Could your husband or you earn additional money without harming your relationship with the Lord or with your family?

7. Accumulate no new debt! The only way to accumulate no new debt is to pay for everything with cash, a check or a debit card at the time of purchase. Put away or destroy all credit cards until you’re out of debt. Once out of debt, either never use a credit card again, or charge only what you can pay off within thirty days. Credit cards aren’t evil, just dangerous!

8. Consider a radical change in your lifestyle. More and more people are lowering their expenses to get out of debt by selling their homes, moving to smaller ones or even moving in with family members temporarily until they get on their feet again. You can sell relatively new automobiles for cash and purchase cheaper used cars.

9. Don’t give up! From the very beginning, you’ll think of a hundred reasons why you should delay getting started or quit along the way. Don’t yield to this temptation. Follow through so you can experience what it’s like to live debt free. God wants us to live debt free so we can serve Him to the utmost of our abilities and resources. When we’re in debt, we are bound to our creditors and are not free to serve God to the utmost. Proverbs 22:7 says, “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender” (The Living Bible). You can become debt free and stay that way if you have the desire, and discipline; you’ll no longer be enslaved to your lenders.

I also highly recommend that you call Crown Financial Ministries* and get yourself into one of their small group studies where you’ll learn how to do everything I’ve recommended plus much more. It’s a life changing experience.

Like this:

The idea of a woman getting pregnant without the help of a male partner is not particularly amazing today. In vitro fertilization is commonly practiced. Test tube babies are a product of human ingenuity and modern science. Yet as remarkable as this is, male and female donors are still needed to create human life.

An incredible exception to this is recorded in Scripture, first as a prophetic prediction, then as a historic fulfillment.

Isaiah said to king Ahaz, “Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (which means God is with us)” (Isaiah 7:14, NLT).

We must admit, this sounds pretty bizarre. We could have easily forgiven Joseph (Mary’s fiancé) for not believing her story.

Hundreds of years after king Ahaz made his prediction, a peasant craftsman named Joseph found himself in the exact situation that Ahaz had described. The young virgin he was engaged to marry became pregnant, which could only mean one of two things. Either she had been raped, or she had willingly consented to a sexual encounter with another man. Either way it was not good.

Being a man of integrity, Joseph didn’t want to shame Mary, but what could he do?

“While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.’ This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel, Hebrew for ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:20, NLT).

The idea that God is with us seems far fetched at times. In a world besieged by crime, sexual abuse, moral corruption and greed; where evil people continue to have the upper hand! Where politicians game the system for their own good and lie to cover their tracks—Scripture has the audacity to claim that God is with us? Where? Where was God when little four-year-old Josiah was molested by his step dad? Where was God when hundreds of Syrian children were killed by ISIS guerrillas in Aleppo? Where was God when thousands of struggling families were tricked out of their homes by greedy bankers during America’s 2008 housing crisis?

“Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you” (Psalm 82:8, NLT).

We have a problem with God’s patience and mercy, except when it applies to us.

God’s answer to all of the world’s evil is not annihilation, revenge or brut force, but a humble virgin, miraculously impregnated with God’s seed. It is both bizarre and genius to think that such a quiet introduction of divinity could eventually result in human redemption! Yet God takes the long road to righting the world’s wrongs because he knows that “haste makes waste.”

“You must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:8-9, NLT).

The idea that God could conceal himself in human flesh and show up as one of us reminds us of the strategy that was used by the Greeks in a popular mythological tale.

“The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to enter the city of Troy and win the war. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war” (Wikipedia).

God became flesh, not to use subterfuge or force, but to openly display the character of his Kingdom.

“The King of glory stooped low to take humanity. Rude and forbidding were His earthly surroundings. His glory was veiled, that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him” (Desire of Ages, p. 43).

When we allow the seed of God’s character to impregnate our hearts with grace we can expect a harvest that bears heaven’s signature.

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT).

About Intercer

Intercer is a website with biblical materials in Romanian, English, Hungarian and other languages. We want to bring the light from God's Word to peoples homes. Intercer provides quality Christian resources...[Read More]

Intercer is proudly sponsored by Lucian Web Service - Professional Web Services, Wordpress Websites, Marketing and Affiliate Info. Lucian worked as a subcontractor with Simpleupdates, being one of the programmers for the Adventist Church Connect software. He also presented ACC/ASC workshops... [read more]